[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

281. Stress and the Brain: Early Life Experience I
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 281.9/NN23
Topic: E.06.e. Early life experience
Title: Early trauma induces heritable maladaptive behaviours via epigenetic mechanisms
Authors: *T. B. FRANKLIN, H. RUSSIG, J. GRÄFF, N. LINDER, S. VIZI, I. M. MANSUY;
Brain Res. Inst., Univ. of Zurich/ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: Chronic exposure to physical or mental stress early in development is a contributing
factor to the onset of behavioural and emotional disorders in adulthood. Not only are these
disorders persistent throughout life, but they can also be transmitted to the subsequent
generation. To investigate potential mechanisms of occurrence and transmission of stress-related
affective disorders, we modeled early trauma in the mouse using chronic and unpredictable
maternal separation, and examined its impact on adult behaviour in consecutive generations.
Mice subjected to maternal separation as pups behaved abnormally when exposed to novel or
stressful conditions, and displayed depressive-like behaviours as adults. Remarkably, the
offspring of these animals exhibited similar impairments despite being reared in normal
conditions, suggesting that behavioural abnormalities induced by early trauma can be transmitted
across generations. Although the mechanisms of this behavioural transmission are not fully
understood, initial evidence indicates that they involve epigenetic alterations in the germline.
This evidence uniquely points to the involvement of transmissible modifications of the
epigenome in the epidemiology of stress-related affective disorders.
Disclosures: T.B. Franklin, None; H. Russig, None; J. Gräff, None; N. Linder, None; S. Vizi,
None; I.M. Mansuy, None.
Poster
281. Stress and the Brain: Early Life Experience I
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 281.10/NN24
Topic: E.06.e. Early life experience
Support: NIMH 5R01MH073175